Alcohol: pre-mixed drinks push beer and spirits off the table 

Alcohol is a particularly crisis-proof consumer good. Glasses are raised in commiseration just as readily as celebration. Lockdowns may have shuttered pubs but home drinkers made up the difference. In 2020, year on year alcohol sales jumped by up to 5 per cent in Germany, the UK and US, according to the OECD.

The choice of drink, however, is in flux. Europeans are drinking less wine and Brits are putting down the warm ales. In their place come fruity hard (carbonated) seltzers and low-alcohol beer.

The decline in beer predates Covid-19. Between 2016 and 2021 beer sales dipped in both the US and Europe, according to data from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, an alcohol market research firm.

Seltzer brands like White Claw offer a lighter, lower calorie alternative. Sales of so-called ready-to-drinks (alcoholic drinks pre-mixed and sold in a can or bottle) doubled in the US between 2010 and 2019. Brewing companies like Anheuser-Busch have moved fast to create seltzer versions of brands like Bud Light. By 2026, IWSR expects these to make up more than a tenth of US sales.

Low-end spirit sales are also in decline, thanks in part to public health campaigns in China and Russia that aim to reduce consumption of cheap, high-alcohol content drinks. But all around the world, drinkers are paying more and consuming less. Premiumisation shows up across every region.

But the biggest trend of all is moderation. Low or no alcohol drinks (aka NoLos) have become a near $10bn market. Their rise suggests more drinkers are switching between alcohol and alcohol-free drinks instead of giving up booze altogether. From 0.5 per cent ABV craft beers to botanical flavoured Seedlip cocktails, NoLos drinks are unstoppable.